Parking coordinates

[Armando Chibante]

Hi Pete,

I suppose this isn't the correct place to post this question, but maybe there's someone who can give me a clue:

I would like to know how to get the list of parking areas for a given airport.

I know I can use TTools to extract the airports information, but I need the list of parkings with coordinates and heading for each one.

Any help will be apreciated.

Best regards

Armando Chibante

[Pete Dowson]

I suppose this isn't the correct place to post this question, but maybe there's someone who can give me a clue:

I would like to know how to get the list of parking areas for a given airport.

I know I can use TTools to extract the airports information, but I need the list of parkings with coordinates and heading for each one.

Doesn't TTools give you that? AFCAD displays them with their orientation, so I assume it must.

I haven't a clue about AFD file formats, especially the new ones in FS2004. Maybe someone else here will know, but you may need to ask in other forums.

Regards,

Pete

[Armando Chibante]

Thank you Pete,

Doesn't TTools give you that? AFCAD displays them with their orientation, so I assume it must.

Yes indeed, AFCAD does it, but the files extracted with TTools only gives airport information; there must be a way to get parking information as well as other facilities information from the BGL files.

I'm going to search on other forums.

Thanks again Pete

Regards

Armando Chibnate

[Pete Dowson]

Yes indeed, AFCAD does it, but the files extracted with TTools only gives airport information; there must be a way to get parking information as well as other facilities information from the BGL files.

I'm going to search on other forums.

If you do find any information about FS2004 AFD file formats, please let me know. I need to update my Runways database generation program (used for FStarRC and Radar Contact) but so far I have no information at all about AFD file formats in FS2004. Thanks.

Pete

[Armando Chibante]

You can count on me if I can find something about that.

Best regards

Armando Chibante

[ConstVoid]

Pete,

There's a file on avsim called fs2004_bgl_structures.zip by Winfried Orthmann. I haven't had much chance to look at it yet, and Winfired says he doesn't have all the info yet, but at least it's a start.

Ian

[ronzie]

Perhaps an inquiry on the AFCAD discussion group over in the PAI forum section of flightsimmer.com might help. I believe Lee Swordy (AFCAD author) visits there and might have a response since AFCAD2 does show parking/gate properties including aircraft radius, airline code, and other data.

Since AFCAD2 graphicly displays asnd can edit those properties perhaps he might be willing to give some specifics as to how to read that information. As an aside, the newest AFCAD2 can now save/edit/create navaid info in upper scenery layers so he must know the structure very well.

I also suggest checking out the updated SDK libraries over at Microsoft since their additions a couple of weeks ago.

[Armando Chibante]

I emailed Lee Swordy posting my question and as soon as I get an answer, I'll share it with you guys.

I already have the document from Winfried Orthmann that Ian Box suggested and I'm studying it; it seems to have the information I need, but I need to check it against FS2002 too.

Thank you all for all the suggestions.

Best regards

Armando Chibante

[Pete Dowson]

I already have the document from Winfried Orthmann that Ian Box suggested and I'm studying it; it seems to have the information I need, but I need to check it against FS2002 too.

Yes, I've got that document now. Looks to have the data I need also.

FS2002 was quite different! Don't try to apply that document to FS2002.

Regards,

Pete

[ronzie]

If the gate position info can be determined perhaps taxiway nav info can also be determined. The cpu can perhaps take the load while the aircraft is on the ground to apply a little AI for programs like Radar Contact to indicate ground control ops based on the afd file info to take you between runways and a gate chosen from what's available according to gate airline coded properties. It has been requested on the RC forum and perhaps with FSUIPC making a taxi routing matrix available while an aircraft is on the ground, application writers such as JD at RC could take advantage of it.

I have not fired up AFCAD2 to see if taxiway idents are built into the available taxiway properties but it would be nice to retrieve and use them so our virtual ground controller can issue taxi commands and the pilot can follow the airport layout diasgrams and/or use the signs at larger airports.

Perhaps it should be a seperate .dll only loaded for ground operations so as not to burden the cpu at other times.

Any takers?

[Pete Dowson]

It has been requested on the RC forum and perhaps with FSUIPC making a taxi routing matrix available while an aircraft is on the ground, application writers such as JD at RC could take advantage of it.

FSUIPC is not the correct vehicle for this. What RC will want is a database of taxi routes, in a format it can process efficiently, in its folder. No doubt John or someone, armed with the AFD file formats, can make such a database -- or rather, a database generator, because it would need to be modified each time the user added new scenery with possibly different AFDs.

FSUIPC is for finding data out from inside FS. I have no idea if FS keeps taxi route information internally at run time, nor if it does what on Earth it would look like nor how to use it. Even knowing the AFD formats doesn't help, and in any case this is truly the wrong way to go about it.

Perhaps it should be a seperate .dll only loaded for ground operations so as not to burden the cpu at other times.

Why a DLL? Why a program anywhere near FS? All that is needed is the data. It is static, not changing all the time (only when the user updates airports). It is silly wasting FS processor time on re-deriving the same taxiway information again and again. It is just more data like the existing runway date RC has at its disposal. There's much more work in devising algirithms in RC for finding the best/proper routes along the taxiways. Even then, maybe that can be done for all possible Gates to all possible thresholds in advance, by some clever AFD extraction and analysis program.

Any takers?

Are you volunteering, then? :)

Pete

[ronzie]

"Are you volunteering, then?"

I'll just volunteer JD. Matrix manipulations scare me.

OT, but I believe he still programs in VBasic. Someday maybe he'll try VC++ since sometimes you can get more efficient tuning with it even though the same MFC libraries are used. This is because it allows C code within it where you can get down and dirty with its structures.

Anyway, I'm no longer fluent in programming but retain enough to comprehend someone elses source.

[Pete Dowson]

OT, but I believe he still programs in VBasic. Someday maybe he'll try VC++ since sometimes you can get more efficient tuning with it even though the same MFC libraries are used.

I don't use C++ or MFC, Only pure C plus a smattering Assembly Code where I need real tight code or want to do something even C doesn't let me.

I think JD might be better off moving to something like Delphi. That is pretty powerful. In my opinion VB is the worst choice, but .. it is only my opinion! :lol:

Pete

[ronzie]

A colleague at work now uses Borland C++ Builder for a RAD environment, then modifies the output. I think it avoids the Pascal intermediate compilation that Delphi uses. I think that earliest Windows versions did use Pascal though noted by the order of parameters in kernel calls.

When I used VC++, the use of C as well as inline macro-assembler was why I chose MS compilers on the MS OS platforms.

Either way, the optimizatons are available with common libraries.

But now I better stop because I've drifted from the topic.